Ring positioning apparatus for concrete pipe manufacture



y 1969 P. L. WADDINGTON ,407

RING POSITIONING APPARATUS FOR CONCRETE PIPE MANUFACTURE Filed Sept. 30, 1966 zz f 0 UQEIHFHHT I N V EN TOR. 2@zzz,'m/4wz zw United States Patent 3,452,407 RING POSITIONING APPARATUS FOR CONCRETE PIPE MANUFACTURE Philip L. Waddington, Brantford, Ontario, Canada, as-

signor to Concrete Pipe Machinery Company, Sioux City, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed Sept. 30, 1966, Ser. No. 583,176 Int. Cl. B28b 1/00 US. Cl. 25-39 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a ring positioning apparatus for forcing a grooving ring into fresh concrete poured into a pipe mold and comprises a plurality of brackets about the outer form of the pipe mold and movable pressure arms, mounted on the brackets, for forcing the ring into the pipe end, between the inner and outer forms of the pipe mold.

This invention relates to the manufacture of concrete pipe by the mold process and more particularly to a device for forming a peripheral groove in the end of a concrete pipe during the manufacture thereof, immediately after pouring of the concrete and compaction of the concrete in the mold.

The invention is intended to overcome the problems encountered in seating a ring or header evenly upon the end of a poured concrete pipe. The ring or header is applied to the pipe so as to form a male or female joint coupling so that sections of completed pipe may be joined together with a tight seal between sections. It is desirable that the ring be placed in the shortest time possible, before the poured concrete has had time to set firmly, and to place the ring so that the formed groove be as even as possible. Various methods have long been employed to cope with the problem such as lever operated clamps, hinged locks, simple levers and weights. Such devices present two distinct drawbacks. The first is that they must be physically set in place and secured manually, and removed from the mold assembly when not in use. The second disadvantage is such devices, when used with concrete pipe molds which are provided with vibrating means for compacting the concrete, must be detached from the mold while the mold is being vibrated to prevent excessive chatter and wear on their moving arts.

p The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a plurality of automatically operated assemblies for forcing a ring or header into the end of a freshly poured concrete pipe while in the mold to form a groove in the pipe. The devices are permanently attached to the mold but are movable so as not to interfere with a concrete pouring operation and are further provided with means to prevent excessive chatter and wear on their parts.

In basic form, the invention is adapted to be applied to a concrete pipe mold including an inner form, an outer form, and a ring for forming a pipe groove. The invention includes a bracket, firmly secured to the outer form, a movable pressure arm for applying a downward force to the ring, and to a nonworking position, away from the opening between the inner and outer forms of the pipe mold.

Further objects and advantages of the invention as well as details of construction may be had by reference to the following specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a partial, elevational view of the invention attached to a concrete pipe mold, with parts broken away to show interior detail;

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FIGURE 2 is a detail view of the upper right hand portion of FIGURE 1, drawn to an enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 3 is a view of the invention as shown in FIG- URE 2, taken at right angles thereto.

Referring now to the drawings by reference character, and in particular to FIGURE 1, there is shown a concrete pipe mold assembly including an inner form 10, an outer form 12, concrete 14 disposed between the inner and outer form, and a groove forming ring or header 16. Several of the inventions 18 are attached at the top of the outer form, and radially spaced thereabout. FIGURE 1 indicates that stage of the manufacture of concrete pipe wherein wet concrete 14 has been placed between the molds 10 and 12, has been compacted, and the grooveforming ring has been set in place on top of forms 10 and 12. A plurality of ears 19 are provided on ring 16 and serve as attaching points for a cable lift or other lifting device for placing the ring. One of the inventions 18, which may be referred to as a ring positioning apparatus, is illustrated by FIGURES 2 and 3, comprises a bracket 20, a movable pressure arm 22 pivotally mounted on bracket 20 at 24 and an hydraulic actuating assembly 26. Bracket 20 is secured to outer form 12 about a vertical bracing member 28 thereof by means of a plurality of cars 30, welded to bracket 28 or otherwise suitably attached thereto, and a corresponding plurality of bolts 32 including spacer collars 34 thereabout for maintaining the integrity of the bracket 20. The outer end of bracket 20 is held in place by an inverted U-shaped spacer 36 secured to the walls of bracket 20 by suitable means, such as nut and bolt assemblies 38.

Pressure arm 22 is provided with spacers 40, 40 an end heel 42, a foot 44 and a friction free roller 46, secured in the outer portion of the free end of arm 22. The hydraulic actuator 26 is pivotally mounted in the bracket at 48, and piston rod 50 thereof is pivotally secured to pressure arm 22 at 52.

As can be seen in FIGURE 2, the pressure arm when in non-working position, illustrated by solid line, will not interfere with the pouring of concrete into the mold nor with the placing of ring 16 thereon after the concrete has been poured. Once the ring 16 has been set in place, hydraulic 26 is activated to lower pressure arm 22 against the upper surface of ring 16, as illustrated by dash line in FIGURE 2. A stop block 54 is mounted at the upper end of outer form 12 and serves to prevent pressure arm 22 from lowering ring 16 into the mold any further than the position indicated by FIGURE 2. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic actuator 26 of each positioning apparatus 18 is independently actuable so as to assure perfect positioning of ring 16 on the mold. Once the ring has performed its function, hydraulic actuator 26 is again activated to move pressure arm 22 back to the position indicated by solid lines in FIG- URE 2. It will be noted that a rubber cushion 56 is mounted on spacer 36 and serves as a stop against which heel 42 may be firmly compressed. Cushion 56 serves to prevent excessive chattering between the several parts of positioning apparatus 18 and permits a firm load to be applied to hydraulic actuator 26' to assist in preventing chattering between parts. As explained above, such vibration occurs by reason of vibrating mechanism (not shown) on the form which are activated while the concrete is being poured into the mold to firmly compact the concrete therein.

As mentioned above, a plurality of these devices is employed at the same time. The number to be used, in normal operations, will range between 3 and perhaps as many as 12, depending upon the size of the pipe mold. Usually, each apparatus 18 is left in place on the mold from the manufacture of one pipe to the next, but if 3 needed for use on other molds they may be readily detached from the outer form 12.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have invented a new and highly useful device in the art of ring positioning apparatuses for concrete pipe manufacture and thus I am not to be limited to the exact construction as hereinbefore provided except as many be deemed to be within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a concrete pipe mold assembly including an outer form, an inner form, and a ring for forming a peripheral groove in the upper end of the pipe, a plurality of positioning apparatuses for forcing the ring downwardly into concrete at the top of the forms, each apparatus comprising a bracket, a movable pressure arm rockably mounted on said bracket; a free end on the pressure arm for contacting the ring, a foot adjacent said free end for contacting said outer form thereby limiting movement of said pressure arm against said ring, means on said 20 bracket defining a non-working position for said pressure arm, and power means for moving said pressure arm between working and inoperative positions.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said outer form is provided with a plurality of vertical braces at least one of the braces adapted to receive said bracket, and a plurality of cars for removably mounting said bracket on said brace.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said pressure arm includes a heel at the pivotally secured end thereof, adjacent said pivotal mount, and said bracket includes cushion means beneath said heel and adapted for contact thereby when said pressure arm is in an inoperative po' sition.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said means for moving said pressure arm comprises a hydraulic cylinder, pivotally mounted to the bracket, and a piston rod in said cylinder, pivotally connected to the pressure arm.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said free end includes a freely rotating roller, for contacting said ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,201,843 8/ 1965 Osweiler.

2,823,439 2/ 1958 Schmidgall.

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,429,160 1/ 1966 France.

I. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

DE WALDEN W. JONES, Assistant Examiner. 

